Engineering Manager
What the work is
Plans, organises, directs, controls and coordinates the engineering and technical operations of an organisation. Oversees teams of engineers, related professionals and support personnel to deliver engineering projects in a range of industries and engineering disciplines.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Determines, implements and monitors engineering strategies, policies, plans and technical operations, while ensuring compliance with laws, regulations and safety standards
- Manages and assigns tasks to engineering teams and oversees their schedules, activities and budgets
- Monitors and evaluates the performance of engineering teams and individuals
- Provides guidance on all technical issues related to engineering projects and requests advice from specialist engineers when required
- Oversees, plans, controls and evaluates engineering projects, and instructs engineering teams throughout the project's operation
- Collaborates with other departments, represents the organisation in engineering related matters, and liaises with stakeholders to achieve organisational goals
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the engineering department of a fictional company that designs and builds pumps for mines and farms. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A design your team argued over for weeks passes every test on the first run
- An engineer you mentored takes over a hard project and does it better than you would have
- A customer rings to say the pumps have run all season without a single call-out
Hard days
- A design fault found late, with units already in the field
- Being the buffer between engineers who want more time and managers who want it now
- Having to overrule a good engineer whose idea is clever but not practical
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 131231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.